The number of mobile phone users rose by almost 267,000 to
10.2 million, bringing the penetration rate to almost 143
percent, the country’s Agency for Electronic Communications said
in its preliminary annual report in Belgrade today. Mobile
revenue rose more than 10 percent to 846.74 million euros, while
the fixed-line market grew 5.9 percent to 446 million euros.

“The whole sector did quite well, considering the general
economy,” which grew 1.6 percent in 2011, said Director Milan
Jankovic. The services accounted for 5.66 percent of Serbia’s
gross domestic product last year, up from 5.29 percent in 2010,
he said.

Investments in mobile telephony rose 4.27 percent to 138.7
million euros from the year earlier. The country’s three mobile
providers are MT:S, owned by Serbia’s state-run Telekom Srbija
AD, a local unit of Telenor ASA, and VIP Mobile, owned by
Telekom Austria AG.

Internet penetration rose by more than 10 percentage points
to 53 percent, pushing revenue to almost 146 million euros,
compared with just over 130 million euros a year earlier,
according to the report.

The Agency’s full annual report with a breakdown of market
share by providers is due in June, Jankovic said.